The Way We Were
by JamesLuver
Summary: The relationship of Benjamin and Nellie, and what might have been without the presence of Lucy.


_Shuffle Challenge Rules:_

_1. Pick a character, fandom, pairing, friendship or something like that._  
_2. Put iTunes or your music program on shuffle and start playing songs._  
_3. For each song, write something inspired by it related to the theme you chose earlier. You only have the song length. No pre-planning and no writing after the song is over. No skipping songs either._  
_4. Do this for ten songs._

_**Chosen theme:**__ the relationship between Benjamin and Nellie._

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**A/N:** Okay, so I know this challenge thingymebob was yonks ago, but I've only recently found the time to finish these off. Some of them are a little silly (for instance, Evanescence does not really mix with Benjamin/Nellie, in my opinion and planes did not exist at the time), but I did my best with what I had, and I wanted to post these to finish my collection. I'm on holiday for a week as of later today (celebration of exam results), so I won't have any Internet connection for the entire time. It will just about kill me, but at least I'll (hopefully) have some reviews to look forward to reading. :) I will respond to them as soon as I return. Goodbye until then! :D

**Disclaimer:** Is _Sweeney Todd_ mine? No, it's not.

* * *

_The Way We Were_

_I. Lose Control – Evanescence_

There is no denying it. As much as Benjamin hates himself for it, he is irrevocably attracted to his landlady. She is temptation personified, with her rolling hips and low-cut dresses. If there wasn't the issue of Lucy, he would've taken her already.

But he has a wife, a pretty, respectable thing whom he loves with all his heart. He would never want to hurt her.

It doesn't stop him guiltily wishing that sometimes she wasn't there so he could lose control of himself completely and act out all his erotic fantasies on the young, delectable Mrs. Lovett.

* * *

_II. Never Again – Nickelback_

The slamming of the pie shop door. Raised voices penetrating the floorboards and filling the tonsorial parlour above with their anger.

Mr. and Mrs. Lovett are arguing again.

Benjamin lies in the pressing darkness silently, listening to the shrill tone of Nellie's voice as her fury grows. From what he can pick up, Albert is accusing her of warming another gentleman's bed while he was gone. That's the second time this week. Ben is certain that Nellie's dignity and loyalty has stopped her from ever stooping that low, but her husband, ten years her senior, clearly doesn't trust her to keep her hands to herself.

If she was _his_ wife, Benjamin would never treat her that way. He'd trust her with his life and he knows she'd do the same for him.

Perhaps one day he'll be able to persuade her to elope with him. Then never again will he have to listen to the sound of her tears as the crack of a practised hand against fragile skin rents the air in two.

* * *

_III. Next Plane Out – Celine Dion_

Young Nellie leans her elbows on the counter of her mother's bakery and sighs heavily, her eyes drifting to the window in hopeful expectation. As it always does in these private moments, her tongue drifts over her full bottom lip, as though she can still taste the possessive kiss pressed to them by her barber's apprentice.

Benjamin has been gone a week, and she misses him terribly. The memory of the kiss he'd given her is the only thing keeping her sane. Her mother has only tutted, disappointed that her daughter has taken a fancy to a barber's apprentice, and told her she will soon forget about him.

She won't. Benjamin has gone to Bristol to complete his apprenticeship. And tonight she'll follow him down there. She can't live without him. The secret, heated kisses. The quick fumbles which leave her breathless and shaking. They will marry, raise a couple of kids. When he is fully trained, perhaps they can move to the sea.

Nellie can hardly wait.

* * *

_IV. Scarborough Fair – Sarah Brightman_

Nellie stares wide-eyed at the various activities going on around her, red hair burning in the sun. She smoothes her dress down nervously, chancing a glance at her best friend.

"Come over here," Benjamin says, pulling on her arm. He seems nervous. Frowning, she follows him over to a secluded corner. From here, she can see the sea.

"What's wrong, Benjamin?" she asks. "You've been actin' strange all day. Are ya feelin' alright?"

"Fine." He swallows. "More than fine." God, she looks so beautiful today; his heart aches with his desperation to kiss her, touch her.

"Oh." She turns away, knowing he is lying to her. It hurts. They've never kept things from each other before.

Benjamin sighs, hating the sadness he's put in her eyes. Gathering his courage, he does what he's been struggling with all day. All his life, almost.

He kisses her. For a heart-stopping moment she remains unresponsive, but then her mouth opens against his eagerly, and he knows everything will be fine.

That is the day Nellie falls in love with the beautiful Mr. Barker.

* * *

_V. The Tide is High – Blondie_

Nellie watches from a distance as Benjamin Barker is intercepted by yet another swooning young woman. She smiles and shakes her head fondly at his attempt of covering his stricken expression whilst trying to slip away from the brunette politely. This party is being thrown in order for a possible wife to be found for young Mr. Barker. Benjamin has already complained pitifully about it to her three times in the last hour.

Nellie knows she is only there because Benjamin had insisted it be so, but she doesn't mind. She isn't as rich or well spoken or as lady-like as some of these girls, but she is the one Benjamin finds most appealing. She is independent and fiery and unpredictable. Mr. and Mrs. Barker might not approve of their son's taste, but Nellie is determined that by the end of the evening, Benjamin will be completely enraptured by her. She tosses her curls, flashes him a cheeky smile, and feels a stab of satisfaction as his eyes flicker to her proudly displayed cleavage, cheeks tinged pink.

* * *

_VI. The Rose – Westlife_

Lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, Nellie releases a sigh. Her thoughts, as usual, stray to the beautiful barber lying in the same position above her head, probably with a protective arm around his wife's waist.

In the blanket of night, it is easy to imagine that he holds a fragile flower of love for her, that the here and now is just a temporary setback. In the blanket of night it is easy to imagine that the same flower will bloom so beautifully, its scent overpowering, its love never ending.

In the blanket of night, it is easy to imagine that the flower will be a blood red rose, passionate, soft and loving.

* * *

_VII. Toda La Noche En La Calle – Ruth Lorenzo_

Raucous laughter, rousing street music, frantic dancing. The street party is in full swing. Giggling breathlessly, Nellie pushes her auburn curls out of her eyes, chest heaving, sweat shining on her face. Bidding her suitor goodbye, she slips through the crowd to where Benjamin is stood quietly, watching the merry festivities from the sidelines. She extends her hand to him.

"Come on, Benjamin," she says brightly. "I wanna dance with you."

His eyes are sad as he looks at her. "You seemed to be having a good time with Mr. Brown."

Is that _jealousy _in his voice? Nellie's heart leaps hopefully at the thought. "Don't be silly, Benjamin. You're the only one I want to dance with. Me an' you forever, right?"

Her words seem to reassure him, for he takes her proffered arm and leads her back into the crowd. She steps closer to him, and they begin to dance fluidly as one.

They stay in each other's arms for the rest of the night.

* * *

_VIII. Sunday Girl – Blondie_

Benjamin hates to see Eleanor looking so sad.

"I really liked 'im," she says softly, leaning against his shoulder as they sit on the step outside her parents' little pie shop. "'E was different."

Benjamin decides not to point out that if he'd been so different he would not be out there with another girl while Nellie herself mourned the company she'd had the chance to experience for a mere week. Instead he puts his arm around her shoulder, drawing her closer.

"You're a million times better than he was anyway," he says, and she smiles sadly, closing her eyes and pressing her forehead against his jaw in the way she always does when she needs his comfort. Benjamin swallows with difficulty, deciding not to voice his thoughts: _won't I be good enough for you, Nell?_

It seems like he is forever cursed to watch her court other men because he doesn't have the courage to ask her himself. And though he knows that she would be anything but cruel if she was to turn him down, Benjamin knows he wouldn't be able to cope with the rejection. Not from her.

He will just have to be content loving her from afar.

* * *

_IX. I Got You – Leona Lewis_

Life can throw whatever it likes at him from now on, because with Nellie by his side, Benjamin will be able to withstand anything. They have retreated back to the Barker's house for a quiet celebration with close family members and friends. Standing in the front room, accepting the congratulations and blessings from their families, Benjamin's smile cannot get any wider. Glancing to his right, his eyes are irrevocably drawn to their joined hands, and his heart swells with absolute pride and love to see Nellie's wedding ring catching in the light. She turns her head when she feels his eyes on her, offering him a huge beam, and he pulls her closer to him, inhaling the scent of her fiery curls as she leans up to wrap her arms around his neck.

"I love you," he murmurs into her skin, drowning in the essence of her, and she whispers the words back breathlessly, her eyes dancing with adoration. He bends down to brush his lips against hers, and she presses closer, eyes drifting shut, and she just looks so delicious standing there in her white gown, he could just ravish her where she stands…

But he controls himself, settling instead for pulling her as close to him as possible. Life can throw whatever it likes at him from now on and he will be able to face it no matter what, because he has Eleanor Barker in his life and as long as he's got her everything will be just fine.

* * *

_X. The Colour of My Love – Celine Dion_

Benjamin looks up, sweat gathering on his forehead. The only sound punctuating the silence is the dull, scratching of the blunt pencil against paper. His hand, poised over the page, shadows the part of the picture he has already drawn, the sketch of a woman, posed on a bed. She is naked.

Benjamin's eyes travel from the drawing to the model. A faint red tint colours her cheeks, her fiery curls tumbling modestly to tease her soft breasts. She lies on her side, gazing at her husband adoringly. The candlelight bathes her pale skin a molten gold, dancing on the warm band on her left hand.

She is a work of art.

Nellie's breath catches in her throat as she watches the intense concentration on his face, hardly daring to breathe in case she breaks the spell. His hand dances across the page with a flourish, adding the finishing touches to his masterpiece. When he is done he signs his name neatly in the bottom corner, placing it reverently on the chest by the door to show his wife in the light of day. He then joins his wife on the bed.

Eleanor Barker sighs in contentment as her husband's lips drift over her skin, and she pushes his open shirt from his shoulders. He fumbles with his trousers for a moment before discarding them, pressing his naked, breathless body against hers. Silken sheets envelope them.

She cries out softly as he rocks her, cradling his hips with her thighs, kissing him feverishly to muffle the sounds of her moans as he brings her closer to the edge.

Red: the colour of fire, the colour of passion. The colour of beauty.

It will always be the colour of their love.


End file.
